Netflix has announced a significant expansion of its Tamil movie business in 2023, with the global streaming giant acquiring the streaming rights to 18 Tamil-language films. The 18 films will be released in the year following the completion of theatrical screenings, according to a statement from Netflix. With this, Netflix is shifting its focus to serving local language movie fans, with the lucrative Tamil film industry getting a big boost from this announcement. Upcoming popular films, including Vaathi starring Dhanush and tentative title AK 62 directed by Vignesh Shivan, are on the list.
“Our audience loves authentic local and global stories across India and we want to give them more of what they love. “Movies like Beast, Doctor and Gatta Kushti have been loved and created conversations among our audiences globally, and we believe it,” said Monika Shergill, Vice President of Content, Netflix. I thought our new Tamil series would have the same effect.” Some of the movies on the list, including Gatta Kushti, have hit theaters and are doing pretty well.
Netflix hopes to capitalize on the global interest in these films, allowing viewers around the world to watch movies that may not have been widely released outside of key regional markets. “The scope showcases a wide range of films across genres and highlights the rich source of creative talent from South India and with the work we do behind the scenes around our dubbing and subtitles, we happy to make these films accessible to a wider audience around the world. Shergill continues in India and everywhere in the world.
As mentioned, many of these movies will be available in multiple languages, thanks to Netflix’s dubbing and subtitles work. This will include Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada in most cases, although some titles will also be available to stream in Hindi.
The list of films includes various films released during the year from different production companies, with six being released from Lyca Productions, including ChandraMukhi 2, Naai Sekar Returns, tentative title is AK 62 and three untitled projects are still in production. Others on Netflix’s list of upcoming releases include Aaryan, Gatta KushtiIraivan, Irugapatru, Japan, Jigar Thanda Double X, Maamannan, Revolver Rita, Thalaikoothal, Thangalaan, Varalaru Mukkiyam, and lead actor Dhanush Vaathi, were filmed simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu.
